On 1 August, construction workers suddenly found they could not enter Ebert Construction Limited's building sites or retrieve their tools.
The major construction company's fate had changed 1 day earlier.
On 31 July, Ebert Construction Limited announced it had been placed in receivership following poor project management and the accumulation of substantial debts.
Lara Bennett, Richard Longman and John Fisk of PwC were appointed receivers.
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In Western countries, receivership plays an important role when companies encounter financial difficulties.
Once the receivers' appointment took effect, Ebert Construction Limited's directors remained in their offices, but their management powers were suspended.
To protect the best interests of all stakeholders, PwC issued a statement announcing the temporary closure of all the construction company's sites。
The statement said the temporary site closures were intended to better protect Ebert's assets and those of third parties, while allowing the receivers to assess possible options for continuing work at each site.
By then, the information on Ebert Construction Limited's official website had been removed. According to its official LinkedIn page, the company was founded in 1999 and had worked on major construction sites throughout New Zealand for 19 years.
Ebert's work ranged from dairy factories, cold stores and large retail outlets to apartment buildings, sports facilities and heritage restoration.
Ebert is currently involved in 15 construction projects, including Auckland apartment development Union Green.
According to the New Zealand Herald, Union Green developer Farhad Moinfar said the site had been locked following Ebert's entry into receivership, leaving nobody able to enter.
The developer was still unsure how much this would affect completion of the apartments. The 12-storey apartment building is currently half complete.
No construction company is too big to fail
The major construction company's sudden collapse has left people across the industry dismayed.
An update on Ebert's LinkedIn page showed that just four weeks earlier, it had announced a contract with Synlait Milk Limited to build a milk powder factory, with completion expected in September 2019.
Just 1 month earlier, Ebert had won a contract to build a fire station in the Upper Hutt community.
“Ebert's insolvency has far-reaching implications for New Zealand's construction industry. It shows that the industry faces considerable market risk.”
Frank Xu, president of the New Zealand Chinese Building Industry Association, said Ebert was an important player in New Zealand's commercial construction sector. It had worked on projects with Chinese backing, including the Library Lane apartment development and the Yashili dairy factory.
According to Ebert's official LinkedIn profile, its specialities include design and build, commercial construction, process industry construction, community construction, logistics construction, project management and main contracting.
Construction is dangerous water, and unfortunately the lifeboat is leaking
Warning signs had already emerged in the construction industry before Ebert's collapse.
Also in July, major New Zealand prefabricated housing company Matrix Homes collapsed owing NZ$2,000,000, following insufficient orders and slow production.
Canam Construction NZ, a subcontractor on the Alexandra Park apartment project, stopped work because it was owed money, drawing complaints from buyers.
With New Zealand's construction industry apparently thriving and said to have another 10 golden years ahead, why are major construction companies suffering from poor project management, thin profits and even debts so large that they lead to insolvency?
Industry insiders said the construction sector had expanded, but new entrants did not necessarily have the same level of expertise as existing workers.
It now takes longer to get work right. Rework is becoming more likely, and productivity has declined.
Subcontractors can no longer control productivity and the risk of rework. They have no choice but to increase their costs.
When costs rise faster than revenue, main contractors have to bear the burden.
Of course, companies such as Fletcher Building can absorb these costs through their balance sheets and continue operating.
But companies that were already on the brink, such as Mainzeal, have collapsed.
In these dangerous waters, some are still proceeding cautiously, yet the lifeboat they are sitting in is already leaking.